Method for managing a call journal, device, computer program, and software product for this purpose

ABSTRACT

Managing a call log of a communication device can include generation of a display list with list entries that are derived from the log entries of the call log, and provision of the display list for a user of the communication device. The order of the list entries in the display list can be determined by an evaluation of at least one criterion (e.g. current device parameters, current connection parameters, upcoming or current calendar events, a previous frequency of contact with the communication partner to whom the log entry is assigned, previous acceptances/rejections when contacted by the communication partner to whom the log entry is assigned, weather data, for example, temperature and/or precipitation at the time the display list was generated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the United States National Stage of PCTInternational Patent Application No. PCT/EP2015/001335, filed on Jul. 1,2015, and claiming priority to German Patent App. No. 10 2014 010 305.6,filed on Jul. 11, 2014.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Embodiments relate to methods for managing a call log. Embodiments mayalso relate to a device, a computer program and a software product.

Background of the Related Art

Owners of cell phones use their phones for communication (voice, video,text messages) with communication partners. Historical connection data,i.e., a function integrated in a cell phone, such as a call history,call record, connection list (all of these are understood to mean a callrecord for the purposes of this invention), is used to establish acommunication connection. The user scrolls through his call log andselects the desired person. The call log may be long and it may betime-consuming to find the desired entry. At present, call logs areusually in chronological order. This means that calls are displayed in alist sorted by date and time. In addition, a differentiation is madebetween missed, answered and outgoing calls. A grouping (summary) of allcalls from/to a certain remote terminal is also currently offered bysome mobile devices.

According to WO2011098491, call lists are organized and displayed by thecurrent geographic position of the mobile device in order to identifythe entries more easily and efficiently. The current position is savedfor each communication event.

The theory disclosed in EP1528770 gives the user the option of savingthe relevant or a selected entry in a call list with individualinformation during a conversation, wherein saving occurs independentlyof the call list. Individual information includes memos, voicerecordings and the like that are entered by the user. Informationcompiled in this way can be displayed later with a service menu. Thismenu allows the use of data added from a call list, for example, forautomatically establishing a connection to forward information or reador edit a directory entry.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment of the invention, a method for managing acall log of a preferably mobile communication device, which is designedin particular as a telephone or mobile device, is proposed, wherein thecall log has log entries for outgoing and/or incoming calls, whereineach log entry contains communication metadata, including at least:

-   -   connection identifier of the communication partner,    -   date and time of the call,    -   direction of the call,

and preferably including:

-   -   location information of the communication device at the time of        the call,

and wherein the method includes the following steps:

-   -   a) generation of a display list with list entries that are        derived from the log entries in the call log, and    -   b) provision of the display list for a user of the communication        device.

According to the invention, an order of the list entries in the displaylist is determined by an evaluation of at least one criterion selectedfrom the group that includes

-   -   current device parameters, for example, available communication        media, such as instant message, telephone call, video call, and        e-mail,    -   current connection parameters, for example, connection quality        such as bandwidth, signal strength, and quality of a GSM signal,    -   upcoming or current calendar events,    -   a previous frequency of contact with the communication partner        to whom the log entry is assigned,    -   previous acceptances/rejections when contacted by the        communication partner to whom the log entry is assigned,    -   weather data, for example, temperature and/or precipitation

at the time when the display list was generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of a communication device according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 a schematic diagram of a display list of contacts and media,sorted by probability according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3D schematic diagrams of a section of the display list fromFIG. 2 in various situations; and

FIG. 4 a block diagram to illustrate a calculation process fordetermining the display list from FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As previously mentioned, according to one embodiment of the invention, amethod for managing a call log of a preferably mobile communicationdevice, which is designed in particular as a telephone or mobile device,is provided, wherein the call log has log entries for outgoing and/orincoming calls, wherein each log entry contains communication metadata,including at least:

-   -   connection identifier of the communication partner,    -   date and time of the call,    -   direction of the call,

and preferably including:

-   -   location information of the communication device at the time of        the call,

and wherein the method includes the following steps:

-   -   c) generation of a display list with list entries that are        derived from the log entries in the call log, and    -   d) provision of the display list for a user of the communication        device.

According to the invention, an order of the list entries in the displaylist is determined by an evaluation of at least one criterion selectedfrom the group that includes

-   -   current device parameters, for example, available communication        media, such as instant message, telephone call, video call, and        e-mail,    -   current connection parameters, for example, connection quality        such as bandwidth, signal strength, and quality of a GSM signal,    -   upcoming or current calendar events,    -   a previous frequency of contact with the communication partner        to whom the log entry is assigned,    -   previous acceptances/rejections when contacted by the        communication partner to whom the log entry is assigned,    -   weather data, for example, temperature and/or precipitation

at the time when the display list was generated.

For the purposes of the invention, a communication device is any devicethat is designed and configured for communicating, and may be, forexample, a cell phone, another telephone, a fax machine, a mail serveror an FTP server. In particular, a communication device can be a mobileor stationary device for voice communication and/or data transmission.For the purposes of the invention, a call is a communication processthat is performed with the communication device. An outgoing call isunderstood to be one that is initiated from the communication device andan incoming call one that is directed to the communication device. Inthis sense, the direction of a call may be incoming or outgoing. For thepurposes of the invention, a connection identifier is any code sequenceor character sequence that is suitable for identifying a communicationpartner, such as a telephone number (including fax numbers, servicenumbers, etc.), e-mail address, FTP identifier, URL or the like. Itshould be understood that one connection identifier can correspond toone communication partner. However, multiple connection identifiers canalso be assigned to one communication partner. For the purposes of theinvention, calendar events are events scheduled in advance, such asdiscussions, training units, or recreational activities, entered in acalendar that is accessible from the device.

It is understood that criteria can be cumulative and, if applicable, canalso be logically linked. Each rule for accumulating or linking criteriacan be understood as a criterion in its own right. The invention allowsintelligent sorting and/or filtering of call lists (call logs) throughthe use of additional information. With this invention, sorting of calllists (call logs) can be improved by including time-, location-, andsituation-based filters and sorting functions. The proposed intelligentsorting is based, for example, on statistical calculations, in whichparameters such as the current date, the time, calendar entries and theaddress (from information on surroundings derived from the currentaddress) are entered. An additional parameter may be saved locationinformation that is assigned to a particular communication event in thepast. The calculation itself can occur in the device or centrally in aserver. Through the method according to the invention, it is possible tosimplify the use of a user's call logs.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is based on theobservation that the communication partner is frequently selected incorrelation with situational information such as the location of theuser or the current time. For example, normally when someone is at home,they do not call themselves, or a number frequently called on the way towork can be the number of a supervisor or team member, to inform him,for example, of the expected time of arrival at the workplace, or thephone number of a certain conference bridge is always dialed Wednesdaymornings at 10:00 AM, and the like. Intelligent management of the calllog with consideration of time and place can help make this process evenmore convenient.

On the basis of the aforementioned considerations, an additionalcriterion for establishing the order of the list entries in the displaylist can be selected from the group that includes:

-   -   a current time, in particular a time of day, which is preferably        derived from the current time,    -   a current date, in particular a current day of the week, which        is preferably derived from the current date, and    -   current location information

at the time the display list was generated.

For the purposes of the invention, a time of day is a preset category oftime, such as “morning”, “afternoon”, “evening”, “night”. The method canbe designed in an even more flexible and user-friendly manner if timesof day can be freely defined, for example as “core working hours” or“lunch break”. The boundaries between categories can also be freelydefinable. With the additional criteria, meaningful logical connectionsbetween sorting criteria can be realized, such as “core working hoursonly Mon-Fri,” “during core working hours,” “accepted during lunchbreak,” etc.

In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, theevaluation can include a probability calculation that determines, foreach connection identifier, based on previous log entries in the calllog, the probability that a call with that connection identifier, whichmeets at least one criterion, will go out from or come into thecommunication device. It should be understood that incoming calls alsoenter into the evaluation, since they too could give an indication of apossibly desired communication process if the selected criteria arise.Who made the call in the history may not be important under certaincircumstances.

The clarity of the list can be increased if, according to a furtherembodiment of the method according to the invention, multiple logentries in the call log are combined into one list entry in the displaylist. A list entry preferably includes all of the log entries for oneconnection identifier and/or person, if applicable, combined on the samecommunication medium and/or the same communication type.

Likewise, display list clarity and sorting accuracy can be improved,according to an additional embodiment of the method according to theinvention, if the display list is limited to

-   -   a preset maximum number of list entries, and/or    -   list entries with a preset minimum probability.

The flexibility and user awareness of the method can be increased if,according to additional embodiments of the method according to theinvention, the determination of the order can be influenced by the userof the communication device, by at least one measure selected from thefollowing:

-   -   selection, preference and/or exclusion of groups of connection        identifiers,    -   restriction to incoming or outgoing calls,    -   establishment of a minimum probability,    -   establishment of a maximum number of list entries.

In embodiments of the method according to the invention, the locationinformation can be selected from the group that includes:

-   -   coordinates of a satellite navigation system,    -   WLAN access to one or more dial-in nodes,    -   proximity or pairing status to one or more other Bluetooth        devices,    -   RFID information,    -   environment categories,    -   current weather data.

For the purposes of the invention, a satellite navigation system is asystem in which location is determined by runtime sounding data frommultiple satellites, e.g. (NAVSTAR) GPS, Galileo, Compass, GLONASS,IRNSS, or the like, and also expansion systems such as WASS, EGNOS,MSAS, SDKM, etc. For the purposes of the invention, environmentcategories are types of environments in which the user of thecommunication device finds himself, which allow a conclusion to be drawnabout a preferred communication behavior of the user and which can bederived, as a non-restrictive example, from coordinates and/or from theevaluation of access to certain dial-in nodes (access points) orBluetooth devices and/or RFID information. Environment categories mayinclude, for example, but are not limited to car, home, office,conference room, work, etc. For the purposes of the invention, weatherdata may include, for example, but are not limited to temperature and/orprecipitation. Thus, contacts to certain recreational activities can beincluded in the prioritization.

One embodiment of the invention proposes a device for managing a calllog of a preferably mobile communication device, which is designed inparticular as a telephone or mobile device, wherein the device isdesigned and configured to perform the method described above. Thedevice can preferably be the communication device itself or a centralcall management server.

Additional aspects of the invention concern a computer program formanaging a call log of a preferably mobile communication device, whichis designed in particular as a telephone or mobile device, includingprogram commands, which trigger a computer to execute the steps of thedescribed method, if the computer program is loaded into or run on thecomputer, and a software product for managing a call log of a preferablymobile communication device, which is designed in particular as atelephone or mobile device, which is saved on a medium that can be readby a computer and can preferably be loaded directly into the internalmemory of a computer and has program codes for performing the steps ofthe method described above if the computer program is run on thecomputer. The invention can also be represented by a digital storagemedium with electrically readable control signals that can work with aprogrammable computer in order to manage communication activities,wherein the control signals are designed and adapted to cause thecomputer to execute the process steps of the method described above.

The computer can also be represented by the communication device, aserver such as a call management server, a personal computer or thelike.

Additional features, tasks, advantages and details of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description ofexemplary embodiments and their representation in drawings in theincluded figures. It is understood that features, tasks, advantages anddetails of individual exemplary embodiments are transferable to otherexemplary embodiments and are considered to be disclosed also inconnection with the other exemplary embodiments unless this is obviouslyinapplicable for technical or physical reasons. Accordingly, features ofvarious exemplary embodiments can fundamentally be combined with otherexemplary embodiments and the combination can also be considered anexemplary embodiment of the invention.

The invention is described below in more detail based on preferredexemplary embodiments and with reference to the figures.

The figures are schematic illustrations and not necessarily according toscale. The graphic representations and their descriptions are intendedto illustrate the principle of the invention and shall in no wayrestrict the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 100 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 100is designed and configured to execute the method described in moredetail below. In the present embodiment, the communication device 100 isa mobile device, in particular a smart phone.

According to the diagram in FIG. 1, the communication device 100 has acentral processing unit (CPU) 102. Furthermore, the communication devicehas a memory 104, a touchscreen 106, a mobile communication unit 108, aclock 110, a camera 112, a WLAN unit 114, a GPS unit 116, a motionsensor 118 and a Bluetooth unit 120, which are connected to the CPU 102and can also be connected to one another.

The memory 104 is present as a flash memory and has an address bookamong other things. Historical connection data and calendar events arealso saved in the memory 104. The touchscreen 106 is an input/outputunit for displaying processing results of the CPU 102 through a pixelgraphic realized by LCD and/or LED and for recognizing user inputthrough a touch-sensitive execution.

The mobile communication unit 108, which is designed and configured forcommunication with other communication partners via GSM and/or UMTSand/or LTE and/or other mobile radio standards, establishes mobilenetwork connections and provides information on networks used and theirquality. The clock 110 provides information on the current time andcurrent date. The camera 112 provides information on brightness in theroom. The WLAN unit 114, which is designed and configured for wirelesscommunication with WLAN networks, also provides information on nearbynetworks, their signal strengths and, if applicable, connected networks.The GPS unit 116 also provides GPS localization information on thelocation of the communication device 100. The motion sensor 118, whichis designed as an inertial sensor, also provides information on themotion status of the communication device 100. The motion status of thecommunication device 100 can be expressed numerically, for example asacceleration within the space, and also categorized, for example as“Walking,” “Running,” “Driving/Riding,” “At rest.” The Bluetooth unit120, which is designed and configured to establish a Bluetoothconnection with other nearby Bluetooth devices, also providesinformation on other nearby Bluetooth devices, such as a hands-free unitfor the car, a connected Bluetooth headset, or the like.

The CPU 102 can also be described as a central processor. During theexecution of the method according to the invention, the CPU receives andprocesses the information from the memory 104, the mobile communicationunit 108, the clock 110, the camera 112, the WLAN unit 114, the GPS unit116, the motion sensor 118 and the Bluetooth unit 120 and, among otherthings, calculates probabilities taking into account various sourcevalues and processes the results for display. Finally, a contact/actionlist, sorted and/or filtered by probability, is displayed on thetouchscreen 106.

Although the communication device 100 has been described above as amobile device, in particular a smart phone, it is understood that thepresent invention can be used on any type of communication device thatcan be configured to execute the desired functions. Although the centralprocessing unit (CPU) 102, memory 104, touchscreen 106, mobilecommunication unit 108, clock 110, camera 112, WLAN unit 114, GPS unit116, motion sensor 118 and Bluetooth unit 120 are shown and described asseparate function units, some of these units can be physically and/orlogically combined.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a display list 200 of contacts andmedia sorted by probability according to the present invention. As shownin FIG. 2, the display list 200 has multiple list entries 202(individually numbered as 202(1)-202(6), 202(i)). Each of the listentries 202 is a value pair of a contact name Kx with an associatedmedia action Mk. The display list 200 is sorted so that that list entry202 with the highest probability for the respective combination ofcontact name Kx and media action Mk appears in the first position, thelist entry 202 with the second highest probability in the secondposition (202(2)) and so forth. Thus, the list entries 202 are derivedfrom the log entries of a call log, in which each log entry has at leastone connection identifier of the communication partner, date and time ofthe call, and direction of the call as communication metadata, asdescribed in more detail below.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are each schematic diagrams of the communication device100 with its touchscreen 106, on which a variant 200 a-200 d of thedisplay list 200 from FIG. 2 corresponding to a situation is shown.

According to the diagram in FIG. 3A, a user of the communication device100 is at home. This situation is characterized in that thecommunication device 100 is in the vicinity of a WLAN 302 with the ID‘HOME’ and has established a WLAN connection 304 to it, which isestablished through the WLAN unit (114 in FIG. 1) of the communicationdevice 100. In this situation, the display list 200 a has been generatedby the CPU (102 in FIG. 1) of the communication device 100 and isdisplayed on the touchscreen 106, in which the contacts A, B, C, and Dfrom the address book are sorted in the specified order. A value pair ofcontact name and media type can also be understood to be a contact, asdescribed in more detail below.

According to the diagram in FIG. 3B, a user of the communication device100 is in the office. This situation is characterized in that thecommunication device 100 has established an RFID/Bluetooth connection306 to a docking station 308, which is established through the Bluetoothunit (120 in FIG. 1) of the communication device 100. The dockingstation 308 is connected to a company network (LAN) 312 with the ID‘OFFICE’ via a LAN connection 310. In the situation shown, thetouchscreen 106 displays the time 10:20 indicated by the clock (110 inFIG. 1) in a time display area 106 a. This is interpreted as the time ofday “morning”. In this situation, which can be described as “Officemorning”, the display list 200 b has been generated by the CPU (102 inFIG. 1) of the communication device 100 and is displayed on thetouchscreen 106, in which the contacts C, B and D from the address bookare sorted in the specified order.

The situation shown in FIG. 3C differs from that shown in FIG. 3B onlyin that the touchscreen 106 displays the time 19:30 indicated by theclock (110 in FIG. 1) in the time display area 106 a. This isinterpreted as the time of day “evening”. In this situation, which canbe described as “Office evening”, the display list 200 c has beengenerated by the CPU (102 in FIG. 1) of the communication device 100 andis displayed on the touchscreen 106, in which the contacts D and C fromthe address book are sorted in the specified order. This display list200 c differs from the one shown at the same location “Office” in themorning because other phone numbers are dialed more frequently in theevening, for example, than in the morning.

According to the diagram in FIG. 3D, a user of the communication device100 is in his car. This situation is characterized by the fact that thecommunication device 100 has established a Bluetooth connection 314 to ahands-free device 316, which is established by the Bluetooth unit (120in FIG. 1) of the communication device 100. In this situation, thedisplay list 200 d has been generated by the CPU (102 in FIG. 1) of thecommunication device 100 and is displayed on the touchscreen 106, inwhich the contacts A and D from the address book are sorted in thespecified order. As in the previous example according to the diagram inFIG. 3C, only three contacts are displayed here, which could be due tothe fact that the probability of other contacts fell below a thresholdS.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram to illustrate a calculation process fordetermining the display list in FIG. 2. Here the reference number 400symbolizes a process for performing the calculation. A process can beunderstood as a method for the purposes of the present invention.

According to the diagram in FIG. 4, the process 400 has a centralcalculation step 402. The step 402 processes a number of input values ato g (symbolized by an input value file 404), a contact list K (alsodescribed as an address list for the purposes of the invention, whereineach entry corresponds to one contact) of the user U (symbolized bycontact file 406), and historical connection data of the user U tocontacts K, each processed according to frequency with input value a tog (symbolized by history file 408) and as the result provides thedisplay list 200 of value pairs for a particular contact Kx (x=1 . . .number of contacts of the user U) with media Mk (k=1 . . . number ofmedia currently available), sorted by probability. The calculation step402 calculates probabilities for all contacts Kx in the contact list Kof the user U for all available media Mk based on input values a to g,wherein the input values a to g can be weighted. The input values a to gcorrespond to the information provided by the mobile communication unit108, clock 110, camera 112, WLAN unit 114, GPS unit 116, motion sensor118 and Bluetooth unit 120. The input values a to g can also beunderstood as criteria for the purposes of the invention. The contactlist K (contact file 406) and the historical connection data (historyfile 408) are provided by the memory 104 (FIG. 1). Alternatively or as apreliminary measure, the contact list K (contact file 406) and/or thehistorical connection data (history file 408) can also be provided orloaded by a server. The history file 408 can also be understood as acall log for the purposes of the invention.

A data set contains connection information from the history file 408,for example, the following communication data:

-   -   time (or categorization, e.g. morning, afternoon, evening)    -   date (or weekday categorization)    -   phone number/contact (phone number/contact dialed)    -   location (coordinates of the location at which the connection        was established)    -   Environment information (e.g. Bluetooth IDs of paired devices,        WLAN IDs, RFIDs, motion sensor, light sensor, etc.)

The additional location information and environment information arestored in addition to the traditional data.

The calculation of probability in step 402 is carried out as follows:

P({Select contact X})=f(X,current time,current location,currentenvironment information,historical connection data)

The calculation of the probabilities P and the resulting sorting ofconnections/contacts of the call log take place locally on the mobiletelephone. In one modification, the calculation of the probabilities Pcan also take place centrally on a server when a central call log isused by multiple devices.

In addition to being sorted, the call log display can also be filtered,i.e. entries with probabilities below a threshold S will not bedisplayed.

Due to the use of mobile devices (cell phones/tablets), a telephone isno longer tied to a location. This makes it possible to offer the useradditional convenience functions. The solution presented here offers theuser a location- and/or time-dependent filtering or sorting function forthe call log. If this new function is activated, the entries in the calllog are sorted or filtered by location or time while taking into accountthe historical entries, i.e. a probability calculated based on thehistorical entries. An influencing factor for calculating probabilitycan be, for example, the current distance to earlier starting points ofthe communication. Call data from the past, the starting point of whichis close to the current location, are prioritized in that order in thelist and displayed higher. Another influencing factor can be theconsideration of time, such that phone numbers that were calledprimarily in the evening, morning or on other weekdays, for example, aredisplayed further down in the list. A weighted combination of distanceand call time, as well as connection frequency, is also possible. Knownstochastic methods can be used here to derive probabilities forindividual entries and to sort or filter the list of calls accordingly.

For example, a mobile telephone of a user A in a conference room isconnected (paired) with a docking station there via Bluetooth. From thehistorical connection data, it can be derived that in this state (mobiletelephone connected to docking station with a unique identificationnumber (UID) xyz), a number of phone numbers or contacts have beendialed with high probability. Then the current time or current day ofthe week can also be considered. Entries are sorted by the calculatedprobabilities. The same applies for the office or home office or also inthe car, etc.

The location can be determined in different ways or be derived fromenvironment information. The devices generally have one or moretechniques for this at their disposal:

-   -   GPS (can only be used outside of buildings),    -   WLAN (accuracy only sufficient through “cross-bearing” by        multiple WLAN APs/controllers, but simply the visibility may be        enough, i.e., the name of one or a combination of different        access points is enough, since the WLAN router at home usually        has a different name than the access point(s) at the workplace),    -   Bluetooth—proximity or pairing to other stationary Bluetooth        devices—e.g., docking station at the workplace or hands-free        device in the car,    -   RFID (has only a very short range)

In addition to the connection information (dialed phone number/contact,time, date), even more data on the location can be stored (eitherlocally or centrally, i.e. the data is transferred into the Cloud, forexample). Location data are, for example: GPS coordinates, name/SSID ofthe most powerful visible WLAN router, Bluetooth ID of paired devices,such as a docking station at the workplace or in the conference room.

The location-based and time-filtered display of call log entries offersthe user additional convenience and reduces the time needed to operatethe device.

A prerequisite for the location-dependent display/filtering of call logentries is the ability to determine the current location of the mobiledevice or ascertain environment information (e.g. WLAN IDs)—this isprovided with modern smart phones.

Bluetooth 4.0 (also known as “Low Energy” or “SMART”) supports a special“Proximity” profile that makes it possible to determine the distancebetween two Bluetooth 4.0 devices. If, for example, a Bluetoothhands-free system is available in a conference room, with thisinformation it can be determined whether the mobile device is in thatconference room or not. This information can then be used in turn by anappropriately programmed application (App) on the mobile device tocalculate probabilities and to sort the call log entries accordingly.

The present invention offers a user who wants to communicate withanother participant in a certain “location/situation” an intelligent(meaningful) selection of communication partners or communicationconnections, without limiting him to a local “sorting” of call logentries. Based on statistical calculations taking into account multipleinput values (among other things, the connection history), the systemcan propose the most probable communicationpartners/channels/connections for the current location or the currentsituation.

The intelligent selection of communication partners is not solely basedon location information. Location information is merely an additionalpiece of information allowing an intelligent initial selection (bystatistical analysis) of communication partners to be made. Instead,additional parameters/information sources are or can be drawn upon:

-   -   current date (i.e., day of week, month),    -   time (if applicable, classified as morning, noon, afternoon,        evening, etc.)    -   upcoming calendar events (e.g., meetings entered in the        calendar),    -   frequency of contact with a certain communication partner,    -   environment (e.g., car, home, work, etc. derived from        environment information, such as “connected via Bluetooth to the        hands-free system in the car,” “proximity to certain WLAN        networks,” etc.)    -   weather information, such as temperature, precipitation (e.g.,        for recreational activities),    -   an overall picture (referred to as “situation” or “situation        information” below), which can be used to calculate the        probability with which a certain communication partner in a        certain “situation” is likely to be contacted.

For example, the probability of calling the meeting organizer is greaterin the time frame between 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after thestart of a meeting. Therefore, a higher probability is calculated atthis time for certain phone numbers/contacts or the telephone number ofthe conference room. If the system has access to the calendar,information from the current or upcoming calendar event can be takeninto account in the calculation (also, if applicable, room No. andmapping of the room number to a certain telephone number throughdirectory access or an address book). The same considerations can bemade for other calendar events.

The present invention is also not limited to a certain medium, such asVoIP telephony. It can also be used with other forms of communication togive the user intelligent proposals for contact with certaincommunication partners, the probability of which has been calculatedfrom historical information. For example, in a conference room, a userusually writes an e-mail or text message to private contacts (e.g., hisfamily members) but makes no voice calls. Logically, the system offersprimarily textual communication media for these contacts based on“situation information”.

It could also be that certain contacts are always called at certaintimes in certain places (i.e., situations) via video call (e.g.,Facetime)—so their probability would be calculated higher andaccordingly proposed in the display for the establishment of aconnection—regardless of the current situation.

In addition to the intelligent selection of communication partners forvarious media, the intelligent selection of the medium itself is alsopossible. For example, based on “situation information,” the systemestablishes that a user always makes GSM calls within a certaingeographic region. This could be due to the fact that there is noreliable data connection in this region and therefore no VoIP calls arepossible. Based on this information, the appropriate medium can beproposed to the user when making an outgoing call.

It is obvious that, based on the information disclosed in the presentapplication, a person skilled in the art can see many possibleapplications that are not expressly mentioned here but are fully coveredby the scope of protection of the present application.

With respect to the features of the invention described in theembodiments shown, such as the WLAN connection 304 in FIG. 3A, forexample, they can exist in other embodiments of the invention, forexample in addition or as an alternative to the RFID/Bluetoothconnection 306 in FIG. 3B, except when stated otherwise or whenimpossible for technical reasons.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A computer-implemented method for managingcontacts, comprising: identifying one or more contacts; determining oneor more probabilities for communication with the one or more contactsbased at least on a historic date, a historic time, and a historiclocation of a previous communication with the one or more contacts;determining a display order for the one or more contacts based on theone or more probabilities; and causing to display the one or morecontacts in the display order.
 12. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 11, further comprising: filtering the display order based on theone or more probabilities to generate a filtered display order; andwherein causing to display the one or more contacts further comprisescausing to display the one or more contacts in the filtered displayorder.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, furthercomprising: determining that the one or more probabilities meet aminimum probability for displaying.
 14. The computer-implemented methodof claim 11, further comprising: receiving data on a current date, acurrent time, and a current location; and wherein determining the one ormore probabilities for communication is further based on the currentdate, the current time, and the current location.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein determining the one ormore probabilities for communication is further based on a historicdevice parameter, a historic connection parameter, a historic calendarevent, a historic frequency of contact, a historic acceptance ofcommunication, a historic rejection of communication, a historic mediatype, or historic weather data.
 16. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 15, wherein determining the one or more probabilities forcommunication is further based on a current device parameter, a currentconnection parameter, a current calendar event, a current media type, orcurrent weather data.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11,wherein determining the one or more probabilities for communication isfurther based on a historic incoming communication or a historicoutgoing communication.
 18. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium,storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause:identifying one or more contacts; determining one or more probabilitiesfor communication with the one or more contacts based at least on ahistoric date, a historic time, and a historic location of a previouscommunication with the one or more contacts; determining a display orderfor the one or more contacts based on the one or more probabilities; andcausing to display the one or more contacts in the display order. 19.The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8, storing furtherinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause: filtering thedisplay order based on the one or more probabilities to generate afiltered display order; and wherein causing to display the one or morecontacts further comprises causing to display the one or more contactsin the filtered display order.
 20. The non-transitory, computer-readablemedium of claim 18, storing further instructions that, when executed bythe processor, cause: determining that the one or more probabilitiesmeet a minimum probability for displaying.
 21. The non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 18, storing further instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause: receiving data on a current date,a current time, and a current location; and wherein determining the oneor more probabilities for communication is further based on the currentdate, the current time, and the current location.
 22. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the one ormore probabilities for communication is further based on a historicdevice parameter, a historic connection parameter, a historic calendarevent, a historic frequency of contact, a historic acceptance ofcommunication, a historic rejection of communication, a historic mediatype, or historic weather data.
 23. The non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the one or moreprobabilities for communication is further based on a current date, acurrent time, a current location, a current device parameter, a currentconnection parameter, a current calendar event, a current media type, orcurrent weather data.
 24. The non-transitory, computer-readable mediumof claim 18, wherein the one or more probabilities for communication isfurther based on a historic incoming communication or a historicoutgoing communication.
 25. A system, comprising: a processor; a memoryoperatively connected to the processor and storing instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause: identifying one or more contacts;determining one or more probabilities for communication with the one ormore contacts based at least on a historic date, a historic time, and ahistoric location of a previous communication with the one or morecontacts; determining a display order for the one or more contacts basedon the one or more probabilities; and causing to display the one or morecontacts in the display order.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein thememory stores further instructions that, when executed by the processor,cause: filtering the display order based on the one or moreprobabilities to generate a filtered display order; and wherein causingto display the one or more contacts further comprises causing to displaythe one or more contacts in the filtered display order.
 27. The systemof claim 25, wherein the memory stores further instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause: determining that the one or moreprobabilities meet a minimum probability for displaying.
 28. The systemof claim 25, wherein the memory stores further instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause: receiving data on a current date, acurrent time, and a current location; and wherein determining the one ormore probabilities for communication is further based on the currentdate, the current time, and the current location.
 29. The system ofclaim 25, wherein the one or more probabilities for communication isfurther based on a historic device parameter, a historic connectionparameter, a historic calendar event, a historic frequency of contact, ahistoric acceptance of communication, a historic rejection ofcommunication, a historic media type, or historic weather data.
 30. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the one or more probabilities forcommunication is further based on a historic incoming communication or ahistoric outgoing communication.